Modular shelf construction

ABSTRACT

Shelves for books and the like are constructed from extruded framing pieces which support adjustable shelves. Three basic extrusion framing pieces may be cut to various lengths in order to fabricate different size shelf units of strong, rigid construction. At least some of the extrusions are provided with replaceable facia strips which, not only conceal connecting screws, but provide a decorative appearance. The sides of the shelf may be closed in by panels held in position by a resilient locking extrusion strip extending about the inner faces of the framing members and adapted to seat into a groove formed about the edges of the panels. Some of the framing pieces are formed with internal longitudinal passages adapted to receive connecting screws from perpendicularly extending other framing members. Adjustable shelf supports are provided by a one-piece bracket extending underneath each end of the horizontal shelving and is provided with upward extending ears adapted to lock in cooperating sockets formed in the vertical framing members. The bracket is moved from one set of sockets to another by pivoting the bracket outwardly.

[ July 1, 1975 Primary E.raminerRoy D. Frazier AssistantExaminer-William E. Lyddane Attorney, Agent, or FirmMorse, Altman, Oates& Bello [57] ABSTRACT Shelves for books and the like are constructedfrom extruded framing pieces which support adjustable shelves. Threebasic extrusion framing pieces may be United States Patent [1 1 Killam 11 MODULAR SHELF CONSTRUCTION [76] Inventor: Oliver P. Killam. 269Pleasant St,

Marblehead, Mass. 01945 [22] Filed: July 9, 1973 [211 App]. No.: 377,258

[52] US. Cl. 108/109; 52/36; 52/496; 108/111; 211/148; 211/182; 312/257SK 3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures a P 2 11 1 m n. 1i l t t t I I t t t -tillllrdl 1.11111 4 a .0 2 r1 cut to various lengths in order tofabricate different size shelf units of strong, rigid construction. Atleast some of the extrusions are provided with replaceable facia stripswhich, not only conceal connecting screws, but provide a decorativeappearance. The sides of the shelf may be closed in by panels held inposition by a resilient locking extrusion strip extending about theinner faces of the framing members and adapted to seat into a grooveformed about the edges of the panels. Some of the framing pieces areformed with inter nal longitudinal passages adapted to receiveconnecting screws from perpendicularly extending other framing members.Adjustable shelf supports are provided by a one-piece bracket extendingunderneath each end of the horizontal shelving and is provided withupward extending ears adapted to lock in cooperating sockets formed inthe vertical framing members. The bracket is moved from one set ofsockets to another by pivoting the bracket outwardly.

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.17 E C n u C O n 9 SI [n0 6 CT e r e h a m m o cm dwwnmmhwflm .1 a. D.ah ec 7 rT e nio a si e HUM kSOLDDKLCMmKwEG G m .6 up w H 79 M44E525555777UO33 A t 3666666667777 7 U 19999999999999 9 NHHHHHHHHHHHHHN l7 68S 226920 2 2 111 111 l G C H .l M 35604 8787 57 7 .lF 999794324 70707 MODULAR SHELF CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION I. Field ofthe Invention This invention relates generally to shelf construction andmore particularly is directed towards a new and improved modular shelfconstruction fabricated from a minimum number of extruded framing partswhich are easily assembled to form a rigid support for adjustablehorizontal shelves.

2. Description of the Prior Art Conventional bookcases normally are madeout of wood or metal using standard carpentry or metal workingtechniques. Wooden bookcases typically are made from wood planking cutand built in the usual manner while the metal ones employ reinforcedsheet metal assembled by bolting or welding. Generally conventionalbookcases have fixed shelves and are not particularly satisfactory fromthe standpoint of structural strength, rigidity and cost. Bookcases ofall wood construction tend to be rather heavy and require periodicrefinishing, particularly if heavily used. Most bookcases that arefabricated from sheet metal are also unsatisfactory for manyapplications since they often lack lateral rigidity unless heavilyreinforced. Sheet metal bookcases also are quite heavy and requirefrequent refinishing to maintain a satisfactory appearance. Further,sheet metal type bookcases are rather difficult to fabricate andnormally require the use of a large metal brake and other heavyequipment and any change in the size of the bookcase being fabricatedrequires substantial changes in tooling.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provideimprovements in shelf construction. Another object of this invention isto provide a shelf construction of modular configuration which isreadily adapted to be fabricated in a variety of sizes using a minimumnumber of common components. A still further object of this invention isto provide a simple, light weight, shelf system characterized by highstrength and rigidity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention features a modular shelf system,comprising upright, rectangular end frames connected to and supportingrectangular top and bottom frames and a plurality of rectangular shelvessupported by detachable brackets. The end frames are fabricated fromelongated extrusions characterized by a U-shaped cross-section formedwith opposing grooves near the outer ends thereof adapted to slidablyreceive decorative facia pieces disposed therein. The extrusion is alsoformed with an interior elongated rib formed with a central passageadapted to receive locking screws for joining two perpendicularextrusions. The exterior of the base thereof is formed with another pairof grooves adapted to receive another extrusion of a T crosssectionadapted to engage peripheral grooves formed about the edge of a sidepanel mounted in the center of the end frames. The top and bottom framesare assembled from two extrusions including front and rear extrusionshaving a generally l-l cross-section with a pair of oppositely facinggrooves along the front face thereof adapted to receive a decorativefacia insert. The top and bottom frames also include extrusions ofU-shaped cross-section, the legs of which are formed with opposing ribsadapted to receive decorative facia strips and the interior thereof isformed with a longitudinal rib having elongated central passage adaptedto receive connecting screws threaded therein from mutuallyperpendicular directions.

The upright side frames are formed with spaced slots and a shelfbracket, formed with a wide, U-shaped configuration and rearwardly andupwardly extending arcuate ears, is adapted to lockably engage the slotsand support a shelf rested thereon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of amodular shelf system made according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a detailed exploded perspective view of the encircled portionof FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a shelf support bracket,

FIG. 4 is a detail sectional view showing a panel and frame assembly,and,

FIG. 5 is a detail sectional view showing the bracket connection.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to thedrawings, the reference character 10 generally indicates a modular shelfunit for use as a bookcase or the like fabricated from rectangular sideframes 12a, 12b, etc.. and rectangular horizontal frames 14a, 14b, etc.,connected to the top and bottom portions of the side frames in themanner shown in FIG. 1. Rectangular shelves 16 are supported betweenpairs of side frames 12a and 12b, etc., by means of movable brackets 18which are adjustable to various vertical positions.

The shelf units may be fabricated in single units comprised of a pair ofside frames 12a and 12b and top and bottom horizontal frames 14a and 14bwith whatever shelves are needed or any number of shelving units may beassembled in end-to-end modular relation using the side frames 12 as acommon side for adjacent shelf units. Any number of shelves may beconstructed in this fashion so that an entire whole wall of shelves maybe readily assembled.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 2, the construction of theframing members will be described in detail. First, with respect to theside frames 12, each side frame is fabricated from a single side frameextrusion cut and assembled to form front and rear vertical framemembers 20 and 22, respectively connected at their upper and lower endsby top and bottom cross members 24 and 26, respectively. In practice,the front frame member 20 may have its lower end extend beyond the rearframe member 22 as shown in FIG. I to form a front leg where theshelving is to be of permanent installation and the framing is attachedto a support wall. This arrangement raises the rear lower edge of theshelf allowing it to clear any baseboard that may be present and permitthe back of the shelf to be mounted flush against the wall.

The side frame extrusion, whether employed as the vertical or crossframing member, is a boxed channel piece generally having a rectilinearU-shaped crosssection as best shown in FIG., 2 with side walls 28 and 30connected by an end wall 32. The outer ends of the side walls 28 and 30are each formed with a pair of Iongitudinal ribs defining oppositelyfacing grooves 34 adapted to receive a facia piece 36 inserted therein.

The facia piece 36 preferably is an elongated strip of rigid decorativematerial such as formica or the like which serves to close the extrusionto form a fully boxed member. In the assembly of the frame members,screws 38 are driven through the wall 32 without the facia piece 36 inplace. The opening opposite the wall 32 is employed for access by a toolto drive the screw 38 into position. Once the screws have all beenconnected, the facia piece 36 is slipped into the grooves 34 therebyhiding the screw heads as well as the interior of the extrusion andproviding a neat, decorative, finished appearance to the frames.

Extending lengthwise along the inner face of the wall 32 is a rib 40having a longitudinal groove 42 of arcuate cross-section formed therein.The groove 42 is employed to threadably engage a screw 38 drivenperpendicularly through the groove 42 of the member 20, for example,into the groove 42 of the member 24 as suggested in FIG. 2.

The outer face of the wall 32 is formed with a pair of parallel L-shapedribs 44 and 46 defining a slot groove 48 lengthwise along the outer faceof the wall 32 adapted to mount a tongue connector 50 therein. Thefunction of the tongue connector is to mount side panels 52 as suggestedin FIG. 4 for closing the ends of the book shelves to prevent books orother objects on the shelf 16 from falling off the ends, particularlywhere the side frame is the last of a series of connected shelf units.The tongue connector 50 is generally T-shaped in cross-section andpreferably is extruded from relatively stifi' plastic material toprovide a good locking connection with the panel 52. The tongue member50 is formed with a cross head 54 which fits into the groove 48 and isformed with a leg 56 having longitudinal barbs 58 extending along bothsides thereof. The leg is somewhat tapered so that it is easily insertedinto a groove 60 formed along the edge of the panel 52 and is wedgedinto place to firmly mount the panel to the side frames. in practice,the tongue connectors 50 are mounted to all of the side frame members sothat the panel 52 will be firmly supported along all four edges.

The front and rear vertical frame members are virtually identical to thetop and bottom cross members 24 and 26 with the exception that the frontand rear vertical members are fonned with spaced slots 60 formed in thewalls 28 and to receive the shelf brackets 18. No slots are needed inthe top and bottom cross members 24 and 26 although the members 24 and26 are formed with screw holes 62 which may be reinforced with pads 64in order to mount the frames 14a and b.

The bracket 18, as best shown in FIG. 3, is of onepiece constructionformed with a straight center portion 66 which extends under the loweredge of the shelf 16 and is fonned with upturned ends 66 and 68, theforward upper portions of which are rounded and terminating inrearwardly and upwardly extending ears 70 and 72, the rear edges ofwhich are arcuate. The bracket is mounted to the upright frame membersby holding the bracket tipped so that the ears are generally horizontaland inserting the ears into the slots 60. The bracket is then releasedand drops to a vertical position with the ears in locking engagementwith the rear of the wall 30 as best shown in HO. 5. The bracket isreadily released by tipping the bracket upwardly and withdrawing theears from the slots. in this fashion the height of the shelf 16 may bereadily adjusted.

The horizontal frames 14a and 14b, etc., are fabricated from twodifferent extrusions namely front and rear members 72 and 74,respectively, of matching configuration and end members 76 and 78respectively of matching configuration. The frame members 72 and 74, asbest shown in FIG. 2, are generally H-shaped in cross-section eachformed with upper and lower walls 80 and 82 connected by a central wall84. The walls 80 and 82 are formed at their outer ends with oppositelyfacing grooves 86 and 88 adapted to receive a facia piece 90 insertedtherein to provide a decorative finish and to hide the edge ofconnecting screws 92 driven through the wall 84 thereof. The wall 80 isalso formed with upwardly extending lips 92 and 94 which may serve assupports for a shelf rested thereon, if desired.

The end frame members 76 are of a rectilinear, U- shaped cross-sectionsimilar to the extrusions 20 and 24. Each member 76 is formed with sidewalls 94 and 96 connected by an end wall 98 having a somewhat Y- shapedcentral rib 100 extending along the center thereof and formed with acentral passage 102 adapted to receive the threaded end of the screw 92driven through the wall 84 of the member 72 when the parts areperpendicularly connected. in assembling the frames 14 to the sideframes 12, machine bolts 104 and 106 are driven perpendicularly into therib 100 through the pre-drilled holes 62 of the member 24. The extrusion76 is also formed with oppositely facing grooves 108 and 110 in theouter ends of the walls 94 and 96 to receive a facia strip, if desiredThe frames 14a and b may be fabricated in any length so that the sameextrusions may be employed to assemble into any size book shelf, counteror desk. The facia pieces may be made up in any color or grain so thatthe trim finish will match other furniture trim or blend in with theoverall decorative scheme. Likewise, the side panels 52 may befabricated in various colors or other decorative appearance, as desired.The resulting frame work is extremely strong and rigid and, by virtue ofits modular construction, is readily adapted to assemble in any numberof units so as to be particularly suitable for installation in librariesand the like.

Having thus described the invention what I claim and desire to obtain byLetters Patent of the United States 1. A bookcase or the like of modularconstruction, comprising a. at least a pair of rectangular vertical sideframes,

b. at least a pair of rectangular horizontal top and bottom framesrigidly connected at their opposite ends to a pair of said side framesat their upper and lower portions to form a rectangular frame assemblyin which the side frames are mounted in spaced parallel relation by saidtop and bottom frames,

c. shelf support means mounted to said side frames,

and,

d. a shelf mounted horizontally on said support means,

e. each of said side frames being fabricated from a plurality ofextrusion members each of a U-shaped cross-section and including spacedparallel side walls and a connecting transverse base wall, said sidewalls being formed with a pair of oppositely facing longitudinal groovesalong the free edges thereof and a longitudinal rib formed along thecenterline of the inner face of said base wall, said rib being formedwith a longitudinal passage therein of C-shaped cross-section to engagescrews connecting adjacent members, said rib being further formed with alongitudinal slot opening facing the open side of said extrusion member,

f. a substantially flat facia strip mounted in said grooves,

g. each of said members being formed with a second pair of oppositelyfacing grooves in the outer face of said base wall,

h. a connecting tongue of a T-shaped cross-section mounted with the headthereof in said second pair of grooves, and,

i. an edge grooved panel mounted within said side frames, the leg ofsaid tongue extending into the grooved edges of said panel.

2. A bookcase according to claim 1 wherein said support means includes abracket formed with a horizontal flat section and perpendicular endsections at each end thereof, each end section being formed withrearwardly and upwardly extending ears having arcuate rear edges andvertically straight forward edges, said forward edges beingsubstantially aligned with the rear edge of said fiat section, said sideframes being formed with vertically spaced pairs of slots adapted toreceive said ears in locking engagement.

3. A bookcase according to claim 1 wherein each of said top and bottomframes includes matching front and back extrusion members and matchingside extrusion members connecting said front and back members, saidfront and back members being formed with an H-shaped cross-sectiondefining a pair of oppositely facing outer grooves and a facia stripmounted in said grooves.

1. A bookcase or the like of modular construction, comprising a. atleast a pair of rectangular vertical side frames, b. at least a pair ofrectangular horizontal top and bottom frames rigidly connected at theiropposite ends to a pair of said side frames at their upper and lowerportions to form a rectangular frame assembly in which the side framesare mounted in spaced parallel relation by said top and bottom frames,c. shelf support means mounted to said side frames, and, d. a shelfmounted horizontally on said support means, e. each of said side framesbeing fabricated from a plurality of extrusion members each of aU-shaped cross-section and including spaced parallel side walls and aconnecting transverse base wall, said side walls being formed with apair of oppositely facing longitudinal grooves along the free edgesthereof and a longitudinal rib formed along the centerline of the innerface of said base wall, said rib being formed with a longitudinalpassage therein of C-shaped cross-section to engage screws connectingadjacent members, said rib being further formed with a longitudinal slotopening facing the open side of said extrusion member, f. asubstantially flat facia strip mounted in said grooves, g. each of saidmembers being formed with a second pair of oppositely facing grooves inthe outer face of said base wall, h. a connecting tongue of a T-shapedcross-section mounted with the head thereof in said second pair ofgrooves, and, i. an edge grooved panel mounted within said side frames,the leg of said tongue extending into the grooved edges of said panel.2. A bookcase according to claim 1 wherein said support means includes abracket formed with a horizontal flat section and perpendicular endsections at each end thereof, each end section being formed withrearwardly and upwardly extending ears having arcuate rear edges andvertically straight forward edges, said forward edges beingsubstantially aligned with the rear edge of said flat section, said sideframes being formed with vertically spaced pairs of slots adapted toreceive said ears in locking engagement.
 3. A bookcase according toclaim 1 wherein each of said top and bottom frames includes matchingfront and back extrusion members and matching side extrusion membersconnecting said front and back members, said front and back membersbeing formed with an H-shaped cross-section defining a pair ofoppositely facing outer grooves and a facia strip mounted in saidgrooves.